| Title | THE ULTIMATE START-UP SPACE |
| Brand | PERNOD RICARD |
| Product / Service | MARTELL VSOP |
| Category | A03. Flyers, Tickets, Invitations, Postcards, Calendars, Christmas and Other Greetings Cards |
| Entrant | TBWA\TEQUILA SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
| Entrant Company: | TBWA\TEQUILA SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
| Design/Advertising Agency: | TBWA\TEQUILA SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
Credits | |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Hagan de Villiers, Gary Steele, Rupert Hancock | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Creative Director |
| Simon Chew, Gary Steele, Jae Soh, Danny Teo | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Art Director |
| Justine Lee, Hagan de Villiers, Kestrel Lee | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Copywriter |
| Simon Chew, Danny Teo | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Designer |
| Tony Chew | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Programmer |
| Melvin James | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Photographer |
| Simon Chew, Aggie Jin | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Illustrator |
| Simon Chew, Aggie Jin | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Typographer |
| Sally Sim, Allan Pattiselanno | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Production Manager |
| Joanny Wong | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Production Manager (Print) |
| Haydn Evans, Sariyanti Sannie, Sam Cooper | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Agency Producer |
| Jaclyn Lee, Bibiana Lee, Melanie Keppler, Christine Chionh | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Account Service |
| Jessica Ong, Gabriel Song | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Jnr Project Manager/Analysts |
| Kestrel Lee | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Social Media/Search Strategist |
| Gerard Rodriques, Desmond Zuzarte, Amran Yussoff, Sally Lee, Albert Pang | Other Credits | |
| Andrew Yeoh | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Studio Manager |
| Nicke Chua | TBWA\Tequila Singapore | Pre-Press Manager |
The perception amongst this market was that Martell VSOP was for their dads, uncles or ah beng guys in KTV lounges. To change perception, we had to do something surprising, interesting and out of the ordinary. Also, the campaign was set to run during the worst financial meltdown in history. People were taking pay-cuts, losing jobs, and losing hope. We wanted to use these circumstances to reposition Martell VSOP as a brand relevant to them and their daily lives – owning your own business is a massive aspiration amongst the target market.
Reposition Martell VSOP in order to appeal to a younger, more sophisticated market: 25 to 35 year-old Chinese Singaporeans. We had come to learn that Martell VSOP’s previous marketing activities were not resonating with this market. The existing message was expected and thus ignored. We therefore understood that we could not look and sound like all the other brands did. We had to shift VSOP from being a brand that showcases success (like most premium alcohol brands do), to a brand that enables success.
The campaign was about The Ultimate Start-Up Space: a 760 sq ft shop space in Clarke Quay that you could win rent-free for six months. All you needed was the right business idea. This then became our starting point. If we were giving away space, how could we use space to demonstrate that? We used a human truth – people aspire to more. They want more. They desire a large office with a great view. To get that, they need success. To be successful, they need to think ‘outside the box’ or in this case: think ‘outside the cubicle’.
This communication was part of a larger campaign. It asked people to go online and submit their business idea. From the conversations online, it became clear that people were surprised and enthused by this brand behaviour: 60 111 followers on Twitter. 29 442 fans on Facebook. 2,068,594 total unique views for all social media, blogs and forums. 26.3 million Google search listings for “ultimate start up space”. 40% increase in search traffic for Martell. Over $590 000 in free PR. But most important, Martell made an entrepreneur’s dream come true: The winning idea, Chupitos, opens its doors in September 2010.